Coroner announces inquest into 2019 death of man in Hawkesbury

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Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General has announced an inquest into the death of a man who died eight days after being Tasered by two OPP officers.

A news release Thursday said Nicholas Taylor, 31, died in hospital on May 10, 2019, “following an interaction with officers from the Ontario Provincial Police” in Hawkesbury.

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An inquest into the death is mandatory under the Coroners Act, the release said. It will examine the circumstances surrounding Taylor’s death, and a jury could make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths under similar circumstances.

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A 2020 report by  the Special Investigations Unit, Ontario’s civilian police watchdog, concluded Taylor died from a methamphetamine and cocaine overdose, and the OPP officers’ use of force had been lawful and “proportional to the task at hand.”

The report concluded the officers had grounds to apprehend Taylor under the Mental Health Act because he was a threat to his own safety and that of others.

OPP officers were called to an address on Abbott Street in Hawkesbury at about 1 a.m., when a man was reportedly agitated and yelling at his neighbour, the SIU report said. Upon their arrival at the scene, two officers tried talking to the man — who had reportedly assaulted someone and had jumped from a balcony — to calm him.

When one officer tried to prevent Taylor from reaching into a pocket, he swung at them and both officers used conductive energy weapons, commonly known by the brand name Taser. Although one device failed to connect, the officers wrestled the man’s arms into handcuffs.

Two additional officers were needed to subdue the man, who was then twice injected with sedatives by paramedics.

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After he calmed down, he went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics and police performed CPR and restored his breathing.

Taylor was taken to the Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital in critical condition. He displayed no brain activity there and his family agreed to remove him from life support on May 10.

A forensic pathologist concluded that the cause of death had been cocaine and methamphetamine toxicity and that use of the two drugs was likely what made the man agitated.

The pathologist also concluded that “the deployment of a CEW played no part in his death whatsoever,” the SIU report said.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General said Thursday that details regarding the date and location of the inquest would be provided at a later date.

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